ʹTHE SHOW WILL GO ONʹ
JAILED KKM MEMBERS COME HOME TO PUNE
Freed after 3 years, members of the group are determined to continue fight against oppression
A week after the Supreme Court (SC) granted bail to three members of Punebased cultural group Kabir Kala Manch (KKM), they were released from prison on Monday. Two of them, natives of Pune city, returned home and shared their future plans with Mirror.
Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor spent three years and eight months at Taloja jail, along with their colleague Sachin Mali of Satara. They were incarcerated in 2013, after KKM was branded a Maoist group by the state Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS).
However, their stint in jail has not cowed their spirit. In fact, the activists now plan to continue their movement with even more enthusiasm. They have already penned 100 more songs and stories over the last three years, including a few compositions against demonetisation.
ʹBeing in jail actually brought us fame — we started getting invitations from all over the country for performances. However, because of bail conditions, we cannot cross the state borders and the Gadchiroli area till the cases are disposed of. But, cultural activities will be on,ʹ said Gaichor, who was a part-time lecturer in the M Com stream before the arrest.
He added, ʹWe have a faith in the judiciary. The ATS charge sheet itself has given us clean chit by referring to KKM activities that spread messages against Hindu-Muslim riots, casteism, communalism, etc. The charge sheet even says that the literature seized from us comes from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Shahid Bhagat Singh and others. How would this make us Maoists? We are mere victims of a system that sees criticism of the ruling powers as a crime.ʹ
Gorkhe, who was pursuing a BA in Sociology before his arrest and is a prolific singer, said, ʹWe raised basic issues by using freedom of speech, but faced the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). But, the support of the common people brought us back on the stage to perform. The court also observed that mere possession of Naxal literature cannot be termed as involvement in Naxal activities.ʹ
When asked for a view on KKM allegedly instigating Dalit youths to join the Maoist movement, Gaichor said, ʹThey could have been impacted by our activities, but how we be held responsible for that? What about films that have a similar impact on the audience. Is the government going to ban movies instigating and promoting violence? Our fight is against atrocities, inflation, farmer suicides and all manner of oppression.ʹ
ʹWe will continue to spread the ideology of Dr Ambedkar, Chhtrapati Shivaji, Bhagat Singh and Mahatma Phule,ʹ Gaichor added.
Deepak Dhengale, another KKM activist who had faced similar fate, but was released in 2013 by the Bombay High Court and was a permanent employee with the Pune Municipal Corporationʹs (PMC) vehicle department before being suspended, said, ʹWe had surrendered before the police since we believe in the judicial system. We could have gone underground if we were a real Naxalite group, but we decided to fight the battle through law. Our only ʹweaponsʹ are songs and music. We donʹt carry explosives or arms yet we were booked under UAPA.ʹ
Meanwhile, when asked whether there was an internal split in KKM after lead singer Sheetal separated from the group, Jyoti Jagtap , a co-ordinator for KKM in Pune, who had been arrested in 2013, said, ʹIt is an ongoing process. People will come and go, but the show must go on.ʹ
Keywords : kabir kala manch, pune, maharashtra, supreme court,
(2024-04-28 18:14:23)
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